Clothes-drier.



UNITED STTES TENT Filer@ THOMAS A. JOHNSTON, OF CI-IADRON, NEBRASKA.

CLOTHES-DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming' part 0f Letters Patent N0. 676,503, dated J' une 18, 1901.

Application led January 13. 1899. Serial No. 702,076. v(No model.)

To all 2071/0721, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS A. JOHNSTON, residing at Chadron, in the county of Dawes and State of Nebraska, have invented certain useful Improvements in Clothes-Driers; andV clothes-drier which shall be simple of con-` struction and be so arranged that the reel will be positioned near the ground in one position and in its extreme upper position be a considerable distance above the ground, so that the clothes can be readily secured to the line and afterward raised to swing in thc air in drying.

In the accompanying drawingsI have shownA in Figure 1 a side elevation of my clothesdrier. Fig. 2 shows a broken sectional view disclosing the shaft Within the supporting-v shoe. Fig. 3 shows a broken top view disclosing the method of securing the cross-trees to the tree-head. Fig. 4 shows a top View of the supporting-shoe, while Fig. 5 shows a top view of the operating-handle.

My invention embodies, essentially, a suitable support, to which is vertically adj ustablyA secured a shaft, to which shaft is attached the reel.

In the accompanying drawings, 2 represents a suitable post, which .near the top, upon one side, is provided with a bracket 3, near the bottom with the bracket 5, and intermediately with the bracket 4. These brackets 3 and 4 are each provided with an opening, through which passes the shaft 25, while the bracket 5 is solid, adapted to support the lower end of this shaft 25 when said shaft is in its lowest position. This shaft 25 is revolubly adj ustably held within the brackets 3 and 4 and above is provided with the cross-trees 2O and 21, united by means of the head 22, which head is suitably secured to this shaft 25. Passing through suitable open-v ings within these cross-trees 2O and 21 are the clothes-supportin g ropes or lines 23, arranged as usual in devices of this class. Extending from the bracket 4 and secured to the bracket 5 by any suitable means is an ordinary bar 6, preferably round,and upon this bar is slidably held the shoe 7, provided with an opening 8 and the central opening 9, as is shown in Fig. 4, the opening 9 being adapted to receive the lower end 26 of the shaft 25, as is shown in Fig. 2. This shoe 7 is further provided With the two outwardly-extending ears lO 10,-as is shown again in Fig. 4, so that this shoe rev-V olubly supports the shaft 25 and may slide upon the bar 6. Extending from the ears 10 10 are suitable ropes or lines 16, which ropes or lines are secured to the ends of an ordinary lever 13, which lever by means of a pin 12 is secured to an ordinary bracket 11 on the post 2. Now in depressing the lever 13 at the operating end this lever, Which for convenience is bifurcatcd, as is shown in Fig. 5, will raise vthe shaft 25, so that the reel is carried upward a suitable distance to properly elevate the clothes. To hook this lever 13 in position, the hook l5 is carried into the ear 14, so that the rcel may be held in its eXtreme upper position.

Now, having thus described my said invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is

In a clothes-drier of the character described, the combination with a suitable support, of two brackets near the upper end secured to said su pport, of a vertical shaft sliding within said brackets, cross-trees secured to said shaft at the upper end thereof, supporting ropes or lines passing over said cross-trees, a guiderod positioned adjacent said support, a shoe supporting said shaft and provided with a perforated ear working' on said guide-rod, a lever pivotally secured to said support, a rope extending from said lever and secured to said shoe, and means to lock said lever.

THOMAS A. lJOI-INsTON.

In presence of- JOHN H. WHITE, W. J. J OHNsTON. 

